Computer simulations revealed the detailed mechanism of how the protein "dynamin" works to form small vesicles within cells.

While dynamin uses GTP hydrolysis energy to change shape, it was unclear how this leads to membrane constriction. Simulations showed that instead of simply tightening, dynamin "loosens" (expands) at a certain stage to generate the force needed to narrow the surrounding membrane tube.

This study provides a clearer explanation for membrane deformation and vesicle formation processes in cells, offering insights for artificial nano-device design.

La Trobe University academics have developed a non-invasive way to monitor hormones in frogs in an important step towards protecting the vulnerable animals from extinction. 

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD today announced the appointment of Gerald M. Wilson, PhD, as Chair of the School’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, effective December 15, 2025. Dr. Wilson, a distinguished scientist and educator, brings more than two decades of leadership and internationally recognized research in RNA biochemistry and cancer mechanisms to this role.  As part of the appointment, he will be endowed as the John F.B. Weaver Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Male bonobos can decipher females’ unreliable fertility signals, allowing them to focus their efforts on matings with the highest chance of conception, according to a study by Heungjin Ryu at Kyoto University, Japan, and colleagues publishing December 9^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

Microtubules perform an active role in communication within the cell by transmitting received signals to the cell's functional units. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the Department of Biomedicine at the University of Basel have now, for the first time, structurally elucidated how these protein strands of the cytoskeleton accomplish this. Their findings could help make it possible to intervene in this communication and, for example, prevent tumour growth. The study was published in the scientific journal Cell.